Ballast working apparatus



l. N. EUSTIS ETAL BALLASI; WORKING APPARATUS Dec. 7, 1943.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Filed Nov. 10, 1941 mf @im ,my

D. 7, 1943. l, N, EUSTIS UAL 2,336,019

BALLAST WORKING APPARATUS Filed Novl 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedDec. 7, 1943 BALLAST WORKING APPARATUS Irving N. Eustis and Ira sublett,Fairmont, Minn., assignors to Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc., Fairmont,Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application November 10, 1941, SerialNo. 418,452

9 Claims. (Cl. 37-105) Apresent invention is more especially concerned,is

of lthe kind generally mounted upon a railway motor car and includes aset of ballast engageable discs and rsuitable supporting means thereforat each side of the car. It further includes vsome means, usuallymanually operable, for moving the supporting means andthe associatedsets of discs ,from a working position in the ballast, to asubstantially upright position wherein the discs are in a non-workingposition with respect to the ballast, as when the car is under way fromone point of use to another.

Apparatus of this kind as heretofore constructed, had certain defects inthat the discs would not function satisfactorily in uneven ballast. Insome instances, when the leading disc of one set, which is the oneclosest the tie ends of the track, engaged a soft spot or area in theballast, it would dig in and either stall or derail the car. Also, inapparatus of this kind as heretofore constructed, when the leading discof a set of discs struck an obstruction in the ballast or the end of along tie and rode over the same, the tendency was to impart a lift tothe associated side of the car or to lift the outer discs `out of theballast, thereby doing unsatisfactory work by leaving undisced spots orareas in the ballast.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide apparatus ofthis kind which will function satisfactory in ballast of all kinds,whether of an even or uneven contour and section.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this kindwherein even though the leading disc of either set engages a soft spotin the ballast or rides over an obstruction therein, the remaining discsin the set will not be lifted out of the ballast to stall or possiblyderail the car of the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this kindwherein the supporting means for the sets of discs are capable of alimited floating movement upwardly or downwardly better to follow thecontour or section of the ballast without lifting any of the discs fromthe ballast.

Again, it is an object of the invention to provide apparatus of thiskind which imparts a contour to the ballast after the discing operation.

The above mentioned objects of the inven tion, as well as others,together with the advam tages thereof will more fully appear as thespecication proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a railway motor car to which theimproved ballast working apparatus has been applied, the set of discs atone side of the car being illustrated in the operative working positionin the ballastl and the set of discs at the other side of the car beingillustrated in the inoperative position out of the ballast, as when thecar is being moved from one place of use to another.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through a part of the apparatus astaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view through a part of theapparatus as taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, through certain parts ofthe apparatus as taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustratedin the drawings,l indicates as a whole a so-called railway motor carthat includes a deck Il mounted upon side sills l2. These sills carrysuitable journal boxes I3 for the front and rear axles lll to the outerends of which are operatively secured the wheels l5. These wheels areflanged to roll upon the rails I6 of the track and which are supportedupon cross ties Il disposed upon a suitable ballast bed I8. In a singleline railroad track, the ballast thereof beyond the tie ends usually hasan outwardly and downwardly curved contour indicated at I9 in Fig. l. Itis to be understood that the contour shown is merely illustrative of onecontour often employed in a single line railroad track. It is also to beunderstood that the motor car has the usual gasoline motor,transmission, braking equipment and the like, that are conventional incars of this kind but which are not illustrated herein.

The ballast working apparatus of the present invention, when attached tothe car, includes a tubular rock shaft 2i! at each side of and extendinglongitudinally therealong in about the hori- Zonta] plane of the sidesills l2-l2. The rock shafts 2li-2l! are enga-ged at their ends insuitable cradles or blocks 2l-2l, which are carried upon the ends ofcross tubes 22, one at each end of the car and only one of which appearsin Fig. 1. Said cross tubes are disposed in a plane below the ends ofthe side sills i 2-l2 and to which they are secured by suitable yokes orU-bolts 23. The construction described makes it possible to contourthereto.

member 3| of theframe.

each arm being held against endwise displacel ment on the shaft bycollars 2li-726 fixed tothe shaft. The outer end of each arm is formedas a short bearing sleeve or eye 21 and on each side of said arm nearthe sleeve or eye 21'is a pair o f laterally spaced bosses 28-28, thepurpose of which will later appear. A Y N Y Y,

At each side of the car is an open substantially triangular frame 30that includes front and rear members 3|-32, and a longitudinal member 33.

`The member 33, whichn is relatively'long, is disposed between andconnects the inner end of the front and rear members 3I-32 whilearrelatively short plate 34 Vis disposed between and connects the outerend of the members 3|-32. The rear member 32 vis disposed at a rightangle to the member 33 and the front member 3| is disposed at an angleof about 45 with respect to each of hypotenuse of the triangular frame.The frame mentioned may be braced in any suitable manner to withstandthe strains to which it is subjected in use.

The inner end of each member 3|-32 carries a bracket 35-36, each ofwhich includes a pair `of laterally spaced apertured ears 31-7-31 toembrace the bearing sleeve or eye 21 of the associated arm 24. A pin h38extends through each pair of ears 31-31 and associated eye 21 andprovides a hinged or pivotal connection therebetween. .Each ear carriesa lug 39 that is disposed betweenthe bosses 28--28 of the associated eyeVand said lug 39 is adapted to engage either boss 28 so as to determineor limit the relative angular or oating movementA between the frame 3Uas a whole and said arms 24-24.

Longitudinally spaced along the front face of ,themember 3| of the frameis a plurality of clamps 40-40 eachto receive a substantially uprightpostor stem 4|. nThe clamps 4|J-40 are so Vconstructed that the stemsmay be adjusted longitudinally or axially therein and said clamps arefurther .constructed so that the posts or stems 'may be turned intolimited angles to one side vor the otherof the longitudinal plane ofthemember 3l,Y VEach post or stem is provided at its bottom end with abearing housing 42 for the stub shaft (notshown) of an associatedconcavo-coinvex 'disc 43.` Preferably in the periphery of each disc arerecesses 44,' which as the disc moves forwardly in the ballast, causethe disc to rotate on its stub :shaft for abetter discing action in theballast.

By means of the construction described, the discs are capable yof lbeingadjusted into that position required by the material in the particularstretch of ballastto be worked in order to maintain the desired d epth,of-action,

Means are provided on each frame to the rear of the discs thereof tostrike oi the worked. ballast so as to impart the desired crosssectional Asbest shown in Fig. 1, said means includes a plate or wideblade 45 disposed rearwardly of the discs and parallel with the Thebottom edge of said plate, which angles downwardly and rearwardly fromsaid member, is formed to produce the desired contour to the surface ofthe worked ballast. This plate is supported by means of spring arms45-46 fixed at the upper end to attachment plates 41, which in turn areixed to the underside of the frame member 3|. The arms 43 which aredisposed to engage the rear face of the strike olf plate, havelongitudinal slots 48 therein and pairs of bolts 49 carried by saidplate extend through said slots and receive nuts 50. The plate or blade45 is provided with Vlongitudinal rows of holes for the passage of thebolts.V By loosening the nuts, the plate may be adjusted longitudinallyof the arms after Vwhich the nuts are tightened to lock the plate in theadjusted position. By disposing the bolts 49 in the propervholesv5|, thedesired position of the plate or blade 45 relatively to the frame member3| may be accurately gauged. With the arms 43 made as springs, shouldthe plate or blade 45 strike' a'cobble stone or other obstruction Vinthe ballast, the arms will give a yield so that 'said plate or blade canpass over the samewithout material damage.

Any suitable mechanism may be applied to the car for lowering the framesinto working posivtion'for the discs, as appears at the left hand sideof Fig, 1 and for raising the frames into a substantiallyeuprightposition, as shown at the right hand of Fig. 1' and which position theframes occupy when the car is in movement along the rail from one placeof use to another.

YAs best illustrated in Fig. 1, we may employ upright posts lub whichrise from lthe sides of the car toward the rear end thereof and whichare connected together'at the top end by a cross piece Illa. Each posthas a stub shaft 52 journalled onfthe inner face thereof and on which isxed a drum,53 and a hand wheel 54. A

'pulley 55 is'mounted on the top end of each Ysecured at its extremityto the top end of the associated post 50. p

When the hand wheel 54 is turned in one direction, theA cable is woundupon the drum 53 and 4this shortens the cable so that the frame 30 isswung upwardly and inwardly, the drum being releasably ylocked againstreturn movement in any suitablemanner. In the initial part of thismovement, the frame 30 swings about the axis as provided by the pin 38until the lugs 39 en,- gage the lower bosses 28 on the arms 24 and thislocks the frame to the arms so that they thereafter turn as one, aboutthe axis of the associated shaft 20 into the position shown in the righthand side of Fig. 1. Y

When the frames are in the position wherein the discs are in theoperative working position in the ballast, that part of the cable 56between the pulleys 55 and 51 and top end of the associated post is lefta trifle slack. Therefore,

should the inner disc of the frame hit a soft lspot and sink therein,the frame swings about the'axis as provided by the pins 38 and the arms24 swing downwardly about the axis of the hollow shaft 20. Thus theknuckle-like joints between the frame and the arms break downwardly sothat there is no tendency to lift the remaining discs of the frameupwardly and outwardly out of the ballast to there skip a part of thediscing action. If the inner disc. of' theframe `Strikes an obstruction,such as a largo stone lor the end oi a long tie I1, it rides over thesame,l the knuckle joint before mentionedbreaking upwardly. Thus, byreason ofthe knuckle-like joint and the hinged 0r pivotal connection,the arms 24 have on the shaft 2.0;, the frame can iioat to accommodateirregular conditions in the ballast` which tend` to retard, if notderail, the car in apparatus heretofore made for discing ballast.

The construction described comprises but a relatively few parts, whicheiiiciently coact for the purpose mentioned.

When in describing the invention, we have referred in detail to theform, arrangement and construction of the parts involved, the same is tobe considered only in the illustrative sense, so that we do not wish tobe limited thereto except as may be specically set forth in the appendedclaims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In combination with a vehicle adapted for travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle,supporting means for the ballast working means and having a pivotalconnection at one end with said side of the vehicle for a swingingmovement from an operative position of the ballast working means in theballast to an inoperative position out of the ballast, said supportingmeans comprising inner and outer end portions connected together for alimited relative floating movement in substantially a vertical plane,and

projections on said end portions for limiting said floating movement.

2. In combination with a vehicle adapted for travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle,supporting means for the ballast working means and having a pivotalconnection at one end with said side of the vehicle for a. swingingmovement from an operative position of the ballast working means intheballast to an inoperative position out of the ballast, said supportingmeans having inner and outer end portions, means providing a pivotalconnection between said inner and outer end portions so that they arecapable of a limited relative pivotal floating movement, the axis ofsaid pivotal connection being substantially parallel with the axis ofthe rst mentioned pivotal connection, and means for limiting the amountof relative pivotal oating movement between said inner and outer endportions of said supporting means.

'3. In combination with a vehicle adapted` for travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle,supporting means for the ballast working means and having a pivotalconnection at one end with said side of the vehicle for a swingingmovement from an operative position of the ballast working means in theballast to an inoperative position out of the ballast, said supportingmeans having inner and outer end portions, and coacting means on themeeting ends of said end portions providing a pivotal connectiontherebetween so that they are capable of a limited relative pivotalfloating movement, said coacting means having parts arranged to engageeach other and limit the amount of pivotal floating movement betweensaid inner and outer end portions of said supporting means.

4. In combination with a vehicle adapted for travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle,supporting means for the ballast working means and having a pivotalconnection at one end with said side ofthe vehicle for a swingingmovement from an operative position of the ballast working means in theballast to an inoperative position out of the ballast, said supportingmeans havingv inner and outer end portions, coacting members on themeeting ends of said inner and outer end portionsl providing a pivotalconnec- 'tion therebetween so that they are capable `of a limitedrelative floating movement, one of said members including a projectionadapted to engage with a shoulder on the other member for limiting theamount of pivotal movement between .said inner and outer end portions ofsaid supporting means.

5. In combination with a vehicle adapted for travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle, asupporting frame for the ballast working means, said supporting frameincluding front and rear members, an arm associated with each of saidfront and rear members, each arm having a pivotal connection at one endwith said side of the vehicle, means providing a pivotal connection forthe outer end of each arm with the associated front or rear member, eacharm and the associated front and rear members being formed withengageable parts for limiting the amount of pivotal movement betweeneach arm and its associated member and whereby said arms and frame maybe swung from an operative position of the ballast working means in theballast to an inoperative position of said means out of said ballast.

6; In a ballast working vehicle, the combination of an arm, meansproviding a pivotal connection between one end of said arm and one sideof the vehicle, means for supporting ballast working means, coactingmeans on one end of said supporting means and on the other end of saidarm respectively providing a pivotal connection therebetween and wherebysaid means and said arm are capable of a relative pivotal oatingmovement, and coacting parts associated with said means and adapted forinterengagement to limit the relative pivotal floating movement betweensaid means and said arms.

7. In combination with a vehicle adapted to travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle andincluding a plurality of rotatable discs, supporting means for theballast working means and arm-like means having a pivotal connection atone end with said side of the vehicle, means providing a pivotalconnection having limited movement between the other end of saidarm-like means and said supporting means, and means carried by saidsupporting means and disposed to the rear of the discs of said ballastworking means and functioning when the latter is working in the ballastfor striking oi the worked ballast to the desired contour.

8. In combination with a vehicle adapted to travel upon a railroadtrack, ballast working means associated with one side of the vehicle andincluding a plurality of ballast working elements, supporting means forthe ballast working means and arm-like means having a pivotal connectionat one end with said side of the vehicle, said supporting meansincluding a frame member to which said elements are attached, meansproviding a pivotal connection having a limited movement between theother end of said armlike means and said supporting means, meansdisposed to the rear of said elements and functioning when the latterare working in the ballast for striking off the worked ballast t0 thedesired contour, and yielding means carried by said frame member of saidsupporting means for supporting said last mentioned means.

9. In a ballast working vehicle, a frame at one side of the vehicle andcarrying ballast working means, an arm pivotally connected to said side"of the vehicle, an ear on the other end of said arm, a second armconnected at one end to said frame and having an ear at the other endpivotally connected to the ear on the first arm, one of said earscarrying spaced shoulders and the other ear carrying a part disposedbetween said shoulders so as to engage either one thereof to limit therelative pivotal movement between said arms in two directions.

IRVING N. EUSTIS.

IRA SUBLETT.

